A Dream of Tomorrow
by PrinceKeldar
Summary: After the last of her family is slain by bandits, Katarin decides to return to her homeland. A misunderstanding threatens her life but fate intervenes and provides her with a new beginning. This story will include f/f romance and cover the main quest and the Companions. Will more than likely include others as well.
1. Prologue

"When misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world

When the Brass Tower walks and Time is reshaped

When the thrice-blessed fail and the Red Tower trembles

When the Dragonborn Ruler loses his throne, and the White Tower falls

When the Snow Tower lies sundered, kingless, bleeding

The World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn."

- The Prophecy of the Dragonborn

**Prologue**

"You bitch," the last bandit hissed!

His two allies had already fallen to her sword. She turned to look at him and saw that he had retreated from the fight, due to the quick slice she had made to his leg. He couldn't stand and could only try to crawl to safety. The two others bandits were inexperienced and they fell quickly. They may have been masters at pushing people around but when they actually had to fight their skills were sorely lacking.

Her eyes narrowed in anger and determination at the last bandit. His eyes widened slightly in fear, though he regained his composure almost immediately. She smirked at him half expecting to see him wet himself. She saw him swallow and then he started pleading.

"What do you want? Take anything, everything you want just don't kill me."

She looked back down at the second fallen bandit and pulled her sword out of his chest then turned and started to approach him. When she got close the man tried to swing his blade at her. It was clumsy attempt, he was weak because he had lost a lot of blood, and she easily knocked the blade aside and put her own blade to his throat.

"Do you give the people you steal from the same opportunity at life before you kill them?"

She lowered her eyes from his face to his neck and they widened slightly. She reached down, with her sword still at his throat, and grabbed the amulet around his neck. She straightened and softly, almost a whisper, said "the man you got that amulet from. He was my father you bastard!"

Before he could say anything, she thrust the sword down. She closed her eyes, tears threatening to fall. Justice has been done Father, she thought. She removed her sword from the raider's throat. It was a swift thrust that managed to go completely through his neck severing the spine completely.

She dropped her sword to the side and reached down grabbing the amulet and removing it from around the bandit's neck. She picked up her sword and walked back toward the bandit campsite. She found one of their packs and took a tunic from it to wipe the blood off the amulet. Satisfied with it she put it around her own neck. She grabbed her sword and proceeded to wipe off the blade.

While she was cleaning her sword she heard the rest of the group ride up. She knew that they would probably be angry with her, particularly Thorold, but at this moment she didn't care.

The Fighters Guild had decided to send an escort with her when she left the Guild Hall in Bruma and they rode to nearest town to where the attack took place, Aleswell. It was there that they learned of the bandits that set up a base in the nearby Fingerbowl Cave. They had hit them that morning and while the last surviving bandit told them that a small group was due back later that day.

She had managed to sneak away from the other guild members and went out to find the remaining bandits alone. She found them and attacked but unfortunately it was over too quickly. "There you are." The voice said with what she assumed was anger and a little disgust. She looked at the riders.

Thorold was at the head of the group and was visibly angry but she realized that the voice wasn't from him. She scanned the rest of the riders behind him. There were the two apprentices, Alvius and Torba, who were newly assigned to the Guild Hall in Bruma. But then her eyes settled on the person that was riding at the rear. It was a justicar.

She turned back to the man in front. "So Thorold did you miss me so much you decided to pick up a stray?" Thorold had been the only real friend she had in the guild since she joined. At the moment he looked at her with pleading eyes that begged her to hold her tongue.

"As you well know Warder, the Thalmor have every right to go with the Guild on any mission that may lead to worshippers of Talos." Thorold nearly rolled his eyes as he said it. She snorted her amusement understanding that it was simply an excuse for the Thalmor to poke the noses anywhere they wish in the Empire.

The justicar started to ride toward her and immediately Thorold and the other members straightened, Thorold instinctively reaching for his sword.

"That means you should tread carefully around us, precious, you never know when there could be a….misunderstanding. I would hate to have to explain what happened to your pretty face." The justicar smiled and let his eyes wander over her body.

She glanced up and looked at the justicar. He was still eyeing her with want, not bothering to disguise his intentions, and was in the process of getting off his horse. "No we wouldn't want that would we? I don't want to have to defend the killing of a particularly sorry excuse of a Thalmor," she said.

She wasn't good at trash talking but then again she didn't have to be good at it. If a conversation broke down to the point that swords were drawn it was usually already too late for her opponents. Not that she was invincible she just had great instincts, her father's training, and her own natural-born ability to fall back on. Thorold had also gotten off his horse and moved to put himself between her and the justicar.

"Why did you sneak away Katarin? You should have let us come with you." Thorold said clearly trying to keep the conversation civil and prevent it from straying too far too an area that would only end in bloodshed.

"I needed to finish this myself. Now you tell me why the Thalmor is here." She had felt like a weight had finally been lifted just a few moments ago but now the appearance of the justicar had brought it all back.

Thorold was about to answer but the Thalmor beat him to it. "This is not a contract for your Fighters Guild, you murdered these men, and I am here to see you brought to justice!" The Justicar screamed as he finally approached the two guild members.

She gripped her sword tighter and subtly readjusted the shield on her arm. Thorold turned to the Justicar and explained that the Emperor had officially approved of the fighters guild's mission to hunt down the bandit groups that had established themselves after the war ended. With the Imperial forces too weak to adequately defend the various settlements throughout Cyrodiil, the Fighter's Guild had taken it upon themselves to hunt down the bandit organizations until the Imperial Legions were replenished to the point that they could take care of them.

She noticed that he didn't point out that, now over two decades after the war ended, the Legion once again had significant numbers to occupy the forts that were scattered around Cyrodiil but the Emperor hadn't rescinded his authorization for the Guilds mission so they had seen that as further approval of their actions and they had carried on as usual.

The group they attacked this day was not a major organization but instead merely a collection those men that couldn't make it doing anything else. Today however it was personal for her for these bandits had killed her father.

"Move Aside Nord!" The justicar now looked livid. At that moment the Justicar simultaneously conjured a sword in his right hand and grabbed her arm with his left but before he could strike her, she brought her shield around in an arc and slammed the edge to his arm that was gripping her.

He screamed and she was sure his forearm had broken. Just as she started to bring her sword around to finish him off she heard a soft thump as he went silent and dropped to the ground face first with an arrow sticking out of the back of his head.

She turned to see where it came from and Torba had her bow in hand looking very satisfied with herself. She noticed that she had largely Breton features though her eyes were ever so slightly larger than normal, giving her a very unique look.

"Let me guess is one of your parents a mer?" She asked her with a slight smile. She grinned back at her "Yes ma'am, my da." She nodded her thanks to Torba and turned to face Thorold.

"What happened? Why was he with you?" She asked him.

"He was here for you."

"That much I figured out for myself thanks but why?"

"I don't know he showed up after we were on the road, after you had already left that is. You know how they are, just showing up when they want. Don't worry about it." He looked over the campsite as if just now seeing it. "So I take it you didn't have any trouble?" He smiled at her, obviously trying to lighten the mood a little.

Katarin just nodded and lifted the amulet to show him. His reaction told her he recognized it. "I got it from that one over there." She said pointing to the bandit that was lying well away from the camp. "Considering what the bastards did to my father, they didn't suffer enough." She went silent for a moment. Thorold didn't say anything. "But at least it's done." She finished.

He nodded and then pointed to the justicar. "We will need to get rid of him, before we head back to Bruma. If he told anyone else where he was going we will deny seeing him and just assume that something happened to him on the way to meet up with us."

"Good idea," she agreed, "but I am not going back to Bruma."

Thorold looked up sharply at her. "What do you mean you're not going back?" He asked her.

"The only reason I stayed this long was because I needed to find the ones that killed him." She answered. "Now that it is finally finished, there is nothing left for me here."

He looked slightly hurt when she said it and she immediately regretted saying it. "Thorold I am sorry. I just don't feel like I belong here anymore. I haven't felt like that for a long time now." She turned away from him and walked to the edge of the nearby forest to grab her backpack she had left there before she attacked the bandits.

She picked it up and put the pack over her shoulders and started to walk back to the others. She nodded to Alvius and thanked Torba again. Then she went over to Thorold. As she approached him he shook his head. "I am truly sorry about everything." He told her.

"I know but don't be. Thank you for being there for me through all this. You're a good friend." She told him quietly, almost at a whisper.

"So, uh, where will you go?"

She turned her head and looked to the horizon. "North I think."

She remembered her father talking about wanting to return to his home before he grew old and died and he wanted to show her the city where he was born and everything. She smiled to herself remembering how excited he got when he was talking about his home.

She reached out and hugged Thorold. "Talos guide you, my friend." She told him. She kissed his cheek and pulled back from him.

He smirked "Careful there is a Thalmor in our presence" nodding to the dead Justicar. She smiled fully this time "I don't think he is going to tell anyone to be honest." She paused and then said "Goodbye Thorold"

"Goodbye Katarin." She nodded and walked away from him. When she was at the top of the hill she turned back and in the distance saw them riding away. She turned back and continued north heading to her ancestral homeland of Skyrim.

**A/N: This is my first story. I would really like feedback so please review. I would really appreciate it.**

**All characters, storylines, names, dates...everything in the story belong to Bethesda, without them none of this would be possible.**


	2. Chapter 1 - A New Beginning

**Chapter 1 – A New Beginning**

The first thing that Katarin noticed upon waking was the heat against her face. She opened her eyes only to quickly shut them again as the sun hit her with its light in full force. Again she tried to open them, this time slowly, and she saw just in front of her a yellow haired man with his head hanging low. She then felt a jolt, and grunted as she realized she was in a wagon.

The yellow haired man heard her and looked up. "Hey you're finally awake. I guess you walked right into that Imperial ambush same as us." That wasn't entirely true she thought. She felt a pain in the back of her head, and as she tried to reach her hand up to it, she realized that her hands were bound. Wondering what was happening she thought back to that last thing that she remembered.

She had wanted to get across the mountain as soon as possible. She had reached the valley just as the sun was peaking over the horizon and as exhausted as she was she found a place where rocks helped protect her from the wind coming up the valley. She had laid there what seemed like a just a few moments before she had fallen asleep. Then she had woken up, the sun only just starting to crest the mountains, so she figured she had only been asleep for an hour maybe two. She was still exhausted and started to wonder what had woken her when she heard a woman's voice. "Soldier is there anyone over there?"

"No Captain. I don't see anyone" said another voice much closer to her than the first. Katarin rolled slightly so she could look behind her to try to see who was talking. It was a mistake. As she moved a stick that was wedged under her snapped. The sound caught the attention of the nearest soldier. It was a legionnaire, she deduced from his armor.

"Halt!" Katarin jumped to her feet as he was moving towards her. "I said halt rebel!" Katarin held her hands out in front of her as she took a few steps back. "Wait I am not a rebel, I just fell asleep here…." She tripped over her feet as she was backing up and the last thing she remembered was the back of her head hitting something hard.

"Damn you Stormcloaks! Skyrim was fine before you bastards started causing trouble!" She was shaken from her memories by the voice. She saw another man sitting next to the yellow haired one. The man was covered in dirt and looked rather underfed. He had said 'Skyrim was fine'. So that meant that she must have crossed the border during the night. "Shut up, thief" the yellow haired man said. So that explained this man's rather pathetic look, she thought. The man ignored him though and turned to her. "You and me, we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw another man sitting beside her. She turned to look at him as the thief did the same. "So what is up with him" the thief asked. "Watch your tongue. You're talking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King of Skyrim." Gods! Katarin thought to herself, she had wanted to avoid the civil war as much as possible and now she found herself right in the middle of it. Well, since it was Stormcloak himself, then she assumed she would at least be there at the wars end.

As the thought settled in, it dawned on her that this may very well be the end. She knew from hearing the news and rumors that the Imperials had been trying rather feebly, she thought, to get Ulfric out of his stronghold of Windhelm. If they could get him outside of his walls then they had a chance catch him or kill him, it looked as though they succeeded.

The other captives continued talking, but Katarin ignored them as she looked around at her surroundings. Two days ago, just after she started north, a quick snowstorm forced her to seek shelter at Dragonclaw Rock near the border to Skyrim. Although the snowstorm didn't last long it was heavy enough for her to lose the trail that she was following. Since then she had been going north but she didn't know anything more than that.

As they moved around a curve in the road, she caught sight of the walls of a city. As they drew closer the gates opened and she heard someone say "General Tullius, the headsman is waiting." She hung her head and fought a smile. She had been fighting for a living for the past seven years, when she joined the Fighters Guild.

She had essentially been her father's apprentice, for lack of a better term, for five years before that. She started to get angry but it wasn't because she was going to die, necessarily; she had already made her peace with that a long time ago. She was angry because she couldn't fight. She had been in so many close calls over the years, and she had her scars to prove it, that she felt certain her luck would run out one day and she wouldn't make it out of one of those fights. Perhaps she would finally meet a better warrior than she and they would best her, or maybe she would be outnumbered. It never even crossed her mind, however, that she would die a prisoner. She also never thought that she would become a prisoner because she took a nap either.

She felt another slight jolt and she raised her head and saw that they had come to a stop at the city square. She stood as directed and proceeded to get off the wagon. In front of her she saw two Imperials, an officer and another soldier. The soldier was reading names off a list but when his eyes found hers he hesitated. "Wait a moment...Who are you?" Katarin felt that the man was honestly confused so maybe she would be able to explain and talk her way out of this situation.

"I am Katarin Battle-Lass." She didn't know why she told him her title name, other than at the moment she felt rather defiant, and mentally cursed herself. But then she had to fight to keep herself from laughing, remembering the day Thorold gave the name to her. It was the day that she joined the guild and he had introduced her as the new guild apprentice to the gathered guild members and added the name at the end as a joke. Unfortunately a scribe wrote it down, and from that day she was known to the guild as 'Katarin Battle-Lass.' It didn't take long, however, that it was understood that no one would be allowed to call her that, save Thorold.

"You have picked a bad time to come home to Skyrim, kinsman." That could very well be the understatement of the age, she mused. The man turned to the officer. "What of her, she is not on the list? "Her breath caught in her chest and for a brief moment she thought she may be able to get out of it. "Forget the list, she goes to the block." Katarin exhaled slowly. She looked to her left barely hearing what the soldier with the list said, and saw the block.

She felt someone grabbing her arm and pushing her towards the others. The officer, she could only assume that this was General Tullius, was addressing Ulfric Stormcloak. "…. call you a hero. But a hero doesn't use the power of the voice to murder his king and usurp his throne. You started this war, Ulfic. You plunged Skyrim into chaos and now the Empire is going to put you down. Today the war ends and peace will be restored." Katarin realized that Stormcloak would die this day but she wondered what would happen to everyone else.

Her question was answered when a Priestess stepped up and started to deliver their last rights. At least she attempted to. A rebel interrupted her and stepped up to the block wanting to "get it over with." They granted him his wish. When she saw the headsman's axe come down, she was stunned.

It was not because she had never seen an execution before because she had. It was because it suddenly hit her that this really was the end. Suddenly she was full of regret, in particular about Thorold. He had been her friend and loyal to her to the end. She knew that he had wanted to be more than that but she never told him why it could never be. She also knew that she had hurt him more than he let on when she left Cyrodiil. She felt a tear fall as she realized that he had been a better and more honest friend to her than she was to him.

"Next the Nord in the rags" the officers piercing voice said. She blinked and steeled herself as she stepped forward. The melancholy that she had been feeling was gone, replaced by determination. The last thing that people would see of her, was not a woman weeping as she approached the block but rather a warrior approaching the inevitable end with her head held high.

In the distance, a loud roar caused everyone to be momentarily distracted. The imperial officer wasn't as easily dissuaded as she reiterated that she wanted to continue with the executions. The soldier that had been showing reluctance, at least in regards to her, said "step forward prisoner, nice and easy." She narrowed her eyes in anger at the officer as she approached the block and saw her smirk.

As she faced the block she looked at the other soldier and he gave her a slight nod, which she returned. She didn't blame him for what he was required to do, he was a soldier after all and was only following orders. But the fact that he was showing reluctance to carry the order out was enough for her to respect him. She felt a foot kick the back of her knees, forcing her to drop to the ground and then she was pushed forward. Her head hit the block and she winced from the blow.

She saw the headsman preparing to raise the axe. She closed her eyes but another roar sounded, this time much closer. She opened her eyes in time to see a large black shape fly out from behind a mountain. She scarcely knew what was happening around her as she focused on the thing. She watched it turn towards the city and in the corner of her eye she saw the headsman raise his axe. The things back legs came forward as it landed on top of the nearest tower. Dragon! The realization came suddenly as she remembered the statue of Akatosh in the Imperical City.

Immediately the dragon spoke and the skies erupted into a storm of rock and fire. She straightened and looked around as everyone else was running around trying to escape. The gust of wind that she then felt told her that the dragon had taken off. She saw the soldier running towards her. When he got to her he reached down and grabbed her arm and pulled her to the base of the tower to the little bit of cover they could find at the moment. He drew up a sword and cut the bindings on her wrists, then turned the blade around and offered it to her.

She grabbed it and felt somewhat relieved for the first time since she had woken up in the wagon. It was foolish in the current situation but as long as she had a sword she felt she had a chance no matter the odds. "Come on, we need to try to get to the keep" the soldier screamed at her. She nodded and they started running through the streets.

He was focused on getting around the debris while she kept her eye on the dragon, which was currently circling the city, pausing every now and then to breathe flames at the pockets of soldiers, in a futile effort, trying to fight it. She nearly ran into the ruins of a burning building because she couldn't seem to keep her eyes off of the dragon.

"Watch out!" she screamed at the soldier in front of her. The dragon had momentarily disappeared behind the walls and when she had caught sight of it again it had nearly landed right on top of them. The soldier looked up and saw the dragon coming down just in time and managed to jump out of the way. Katarin couldn't help but be amazed at the sight. After it breathed more fire at another group of soldiers, it took to the air again and again she had to force herself to take her eyes off of it as they continued making their way through the debris and burning homes. They soon made it to the keep and quickly made their way inside.

Once inside Katarin walked over to a pillar and leaned her shoulder against it while she was trying to catch her breath. She looked over her shoulder and saw the soldier doing the same against the wall. "Thank you for the help" she told him. He looked up at her and nodded. He coughed and introduced himself. "My name is Hadvar by the way, and there should be some armor in one of these chests. It may not fit you but it will have to do".

She didn't move but just kept looking at him. "Why are you helping me? For all you know I could be a rebel" she finally said. He chuckled "and are you a rebel?" She didn't say anything and just kept staring at him. He looked like he was getting uncomfortable and after a moment of silence he shrugged "you could be but if you were we wouldn't be talking right now. Those rebels that are in the company of Ulfric Stormcloak himself are so devout to their cause that they would kill me the very first chance they got." She accepted that, simply because she was ready to keep moving.

She walked over to a chest and discovered a set of Imperial leather armor. She went searching the other chests for a set of heavy. The Imperial armor was the only ones that she found so she put it on over her clothes. She was moderately surprised to find that it fit pretty well. As she tightened the straps on her side she made her way to a weapons rack that she spotted. Since she didn't find a shield, she got a second sword from the wall.

She heard Hadvar begin moving behind her. She heard another roar from outside and she looked to the door. She nearly found herself taking a step toward the door almost like the dragon was calling to her. "So is that thing out there a dragon?" Hadvar asked. She nodded as she wondered why she was affected so much by the dragon and she recalled another memory. She remembered her father taking her to the Temple of the One whenever they were in the Imperial City.

The Statue of Akatosh had somehow survived the Great War and her father told her all the stories about it. He told her that there were some people that believed that it is the avatar of the Divine Akatosh himself. There were others that believed it was simply carved in honor of the last Septim Emperor, who died fighting during the Oblivion Crisis, and that the spiritual aspect was added later by the priests and priestesses of the Temple. Katarin however, couldn't care less about the truth of the stories. She just simply enjoyed looking at it and she never passed up an opportunity to go to the temple to see it. There were even times that she caught herself just staring at it.

It was like that this time. She felt that she was somehow drawn to the dragon. When she heard it or saw it something stirred in her. It didn't seem like it was affecting Hadvar like it was her, but she didn't ask. Hadvar reached out and pulled a chain that opened a gate. "Come on this way. There is a cave system under the keep that will take us outside the city." She walked up beside him. "Sounds like a good plan. You first." She said. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her. She smirked and continued. "If I am not a rebel you have nothing to worry about and if I am. Well, you already said that you would be dead at the first opportunity."

His eyes narrowed and she stopped smirking. Apparantly he isn't as sure that I am not a rebel as he said he was, she thought. Deciding to tell him the truth she said "Look, even though you were reluctant to kill me out there, you were still willing to follow orders and do so. You're a soldier and I respect that but it doesn't mean I trust you, so I will not have you at my back." His eyes softened and nodded, understanding what she was saying. "Very well, let's go." He said

They made their way through the halls and at times ran into small numbers of rebels who obviously had the same idea they did; there weren't many rebels to fight which meant that either the others had found another way out or they were all dead. She wondered if the dragon had done what the Empire had failed at and killed Ulfric Stormcloak.

They finally made it through the keep and into the cave system. Once into the cave they slowed to a more cautious pace. Since the underground creek running through the cave made everything damp, finding solid footing proved to be tricky in spots. She nearly ran to the sunlight, when she saw it, and she took a deep breath of fresh air when they made it to the surface again. The location of the sun told her it was midday which again surprised her. She felt that they had been underground for much longer than that.

Just a few moments later they heard yet another roar from the dragon. She turned and watched as it flew away from the city and kept watching it until it disappeared in the distance. She looked back to where the city would be and saw thick black smoke filling the sky. "Do you think anyone else made it?" She asked Hadvar. He looked back to the city and just shrugged and shook his head. He turned back to face her again and said "we should go to my uncle's home. He is the blacksmith in Riverwood, it's just a small lumber town just down the mountain a short ways. It will be a good place to rest and to plan out what to do next." She nodded her agreement and they started on their way.

They had been walking in silence for a while and had just gotten off the trail and onto the main road to Riverwood. Hadvar turned to her clearly a little more relaxed now that the immediate threat of the dragon was over. He broke the silence by asking "so what kind of name is 'Battle-Lass' anyway?"

Of all the questions that Katarin had been expecting, that was not one of them. She looked at him and saw him smirking, she looked back to her front again and she sighed. "It was a joke between a friend and me." That was all she told him. Hadvar had earned her respect but she wasn't his friend. She looked to her left out over a lake. She thought about the dragon again and somehow she knew that from this moment forward her life would never be the same.

**A/N: Now we are into Skyrim. There will be some lines throughout the story that are taken from the game, but I will try to keep it to a minimum. Again, I appreciate any and all reviews. Thank you to those that have decided to follow the story, I hope you will enjoy it.**


	3. Chapter 2 - The Companion

**Chapter 2 – The Companion**

Aela had woken but she refused to open her eyes. She felt like she hadn't slept very long, if at all, but when she heard the birds and other sounds of the forest she knew that it was morning. Of all the benefits that her wolf blood gave her this was one of the downsides. She never felt that she truly slept. She thought the cause could be the result of the heightened senses that her wolf gave her. The slightest noise, such as a twig snap, could wake her.

She didn't know why but she usually slept a little better if she changed to the wolf before going to sleep, but since Ria was accompanying her and Farkas she couldn't do that.

She finally opened her eyes and saw the sun peeking through the trees. It was higher in the sky than she would have thought and judged it to be about midmorning. She sat up and looked over the fire pit; the fire had died out a few hours before, and she saw Farkas just starting to wake up. She looked to her right and saw Ria the newest member of the Companions, still sleeping. She was covered from head to foot with at least two hides.

The previous day they had cleared out a cave near Fort Amol; it was already dark when they finally finished so they had decided to set up a quick camp for the night at the bottom of the steps leading up to Hillgrund's Tomb. A quick camp meant just a campfire and bedrolls and it must have gotten very cold the night before. Aela suddenly felt guilty that they had been eager to sleep and hadn't considered how Ria would fare through the night.

Ria was an Imperial and her people hadn't built up the resistances to the cold her and Farkas' own ancestors had. In addition to that was that she and Farkas were both werewolves and they were much more resilient to the cold than the average Nord.

She reluctantly got to her feet as Farkas was still waking and she decided to fill their canteens for the day. So she gathered them up and started walking towards the river. As she was filling the canteens she smelled a wolf. She looked around and caught sight of him on the other side of the river.

The wolf at first didn't notice her but when he did he just sat on his haunches and watched her. She smiled thinking that the wolves certainly knew who their cousins were and wouldn't attack unless provoked.

Ria had even made the observation earlier in the week that she had found it odd that they hadn't run across any wolf packs seeing how wolves were one of the most common animals to be found in Skyrim.

When she made it back to the camp, Farkas had already woken Ria and they nearly had everything gathered up. She passed out the canteens and went to gather her own bedroll.

Farkas walked up behind her "I don't know about you but I am ready to get back."

"Why do you think I filled the canteens already?" Aela replied.

"Eager to get back to Skjor are you?" He chuckled.

She turned and glared at him. He just smiled before breaking into a laugh. Continuing to glare at him she turned her back to him. She knew that he had believed her when she told him that there was nothing going on between Skjor and her. He was the only one, as it turned out, that believed her but it still didn't stop him from teasing her about it.

It certainly wasn't for lack of trying on Skjor's part however. He was very much interested in sex with her but she wasn't going to go there with him. Truth be told the only reason that she tolerated his behavior was because he was the only one that embraced his wolf, like her.

They would often go out at night in wolf form to hunt and that was where the rumor about Skjor and Aela came from, since the non-Circle Companions didn't know about the Circle being werewolves they assumed it was for another reason. She also suspected that it was Njada that started it and that angered her more than the rumor itself.

"Come on Ice brain. Let's go." She looked over at Ria, who nodded telling her that she was ready to go as well. They started up the road towards the Valtheim Towers. She hoped that they wouldn't have to fight anyone today but she still checked to make sure that her sword was clear in her scabbard and her bow was easily accessible. Farkas had noticed and did the same. "Are you expecting trouble?"

"You know Valtheim Towers are up ahead, and I would not be surprised if bandits haven't already moved in again." Ria was trailing behind Farkas but she heard her check her sword too. That was one of the many problems with the civil war.

While the two armies were more concerned with killing each other they were much less interested in protecting the citizens. However, while the situation was perfect for bandits to thrive, it also provided the Companions with much needed work.

In the distance they heard a roar. Aela immediately drew her bow and reached for an arrow while Farkas readied his broadsword. She looked behind her and in the distance saw a faint black shape moving away from them before quickly disappearing behind a mountain. "What in Talos' name was that?"

Farkas shook his head "I don't know." They stood in place for a few moments before understanding that, whatever that thing was, it wasn't coming back. "Come on," Aela said "let's move."

She was unsurprised to find the towers occupied by bandits again. She often said that the bandits were like rabbits. Turn your back for a moment and there are twenty more. Ria and Farkas drew their swords while Aela equipped her bow. Notching an arrow they proceeded to clear out the towers again.

The bandit stationed outside the first tower must have seen their approach and had alerted the bandits inside, as they were already prepared and waiting for them. Aela ignored those bandits that were on the ground, trusting Farkas and Ria to handle them. Instead she moved to a location that gave her a good view of the towers and proceeded to pick off the archers.

She readied an arrow and released it. She watched as the archer on top of the first tower fall all the way to the ground below. She saw Farkas and Ria enter the tower so she turned to find the next archer. The other archer was on the opposite side of the river from her.

She notched another arrow, drew back the bowstring, and released. The archer had fortunately not seen her and was aiming at the others as they were fighting on the bridge. She watched the arrow as it sliced through the air toward its target and felt satisfaction as the arrow hit home. The arrow had pierced the archer's neck and he immediately fell to his knees grasping at his neck as he struggled to breath.

She saw Farkas and Ria on the narrow bridge, that was connecting the two towers, fight the remaining bandits and was pleased when she saw Ria push the final bandit off the edge and into the river.

She gathered up her bow and arrows and made her way toward the tower. She heard Farkas and Ria laughing and discussing the fight as they exited. When Ria saw Aela approaching she said "Not the greatest fight but entertaining nevertheless." Farkas simply said that the fight was adequate.

It was midday and they decided to make use of the fire pit that the bandits had prepared to cook a meal and rest for a while. The real reason that they stopped was because of Ria. It was one of the benefits of being a werewolf she thought. They had more stamina and could go far longer before needing to rest, Ria couldn't.

About an hour later they were moving again. It was early afternoon when they crested the hill near one of the standing stones. She looked out over the plains and in the distance saw Whiterun. It became evident that she wasn't the only one eager to get back, since they had started to walk a little faster since coming in sight of the city.

They had just walked by the Honningbrew Meadery when Aela felt the ground shake. She heard a scream and looked to where it came from and saw a large dust cloud at the Pelagia Farmstead. Then she saw the club followed by the giant emerge from the dust.

"Giant!" she screamed. Farkas, however, was already running towards the giant with his broadsword in hand and Ria right behind him. Aela repeated her actions from earlier in the day as she harassed the giant with arrows from a distance while the other two moved in close.

The giant had seen the new arrivals coming closer and had turned to face them. He had started to raise his club but the well-aimed arrow from Aela hit him just above his eye. It was enough to distract him while Farkas swung his sword at his leg. Ria moved around to the opposite side from Farkas and was swiping at the giant as well.

This was turning out well, Aela thought. The giant couldn't focus on one of them with the other hitting him from the opposite side. Not to mention that Aela was harassing him with arrows at the same time.

The giant raised his club and slammed it down to the ground just beside Farkas causing Farkas to jump out of the way. The giant then took a step to the side and turned around to face Farkas and with that one move both Farkas and Ria were in front of him. This particular giant was either much smarter or just luckier than his brethren.

Aela let out a growl at the sudden turn of events and called on her wolf. She would often call on her wolf when going into a fight, not enough to change but enough to give her an advantage. Farkas hadn't gotten to his feet yet, the near miss having disoriented him, and Ria moved forward with her shield raised to try to protect him.

Aela knew that the giant could kill one, maybe both of her companions, with one good strike. She was just about to drop her bow and draw her sword when she saw another person run by her. The giant was so focused on the other two that he didn't see this new enemy enter the fight.

The person was obviously female, tall, with short dark brown hair coming down nearly to her shoulders. She was equipped in a set of iron armor and wielding an axe and shield. Aela drew another arrow and notched it, but she didn't get the chance to shoot. She watched as the woman closed the gap to the giant and swung the axe directly at the back of his knee.

The giant's leg buckled and he fell to his knees. Ria saw the opportunity and moved in front of the him and thrust her sword up through his chin. Immediately the giant slumped and fell forward.

Fortunately the fight was over quickly and as Aela looked for Farkas, she was wondering how the fight could have turned out differently if the stranger hadn't shown up. She had been so close to changing. She thought that she would have if the stranger hadn't shown up and distracted her.

Farkas was on his feet again, talking to Ria and shaking his head. He was probably chastising himself but she decided she would talk to him in a moment and started looking around for the woman. She found the stranger sitting on the rock wall that was surrounding the fields.

Aela started to walk toward her and as she drew close the stranger looked up and Aela drew in a sharp breath. The woman's eyes were a deep blue that seemed to look right through her. As she took another step the woman gave her a tired grin.

The first thing that Aela thought was that the woman was good looking. Her skin was tanned, telling her that she had spent time in the south. She also had scars almost like claw marks running down the center of her face. It was also clear that the armor she was wearing was not made for her, which meant that she either purchased it in haste or simply found it.

"Sorry about rushing in like that but it looked like the fight was turning against you and the big man gave me an opening so I took it." She said pointing to the giant. The woman was still breathing heavy. She had apparently exhausted herself trying to get to the fight. A small part of Aela wanted to reprimand her for not announcing herself first but the rest admired the courage that it took to do that.

There were few people that would rush into a fight with a giant like that, and they were all Companions. Aela realized that the sense of admiration for the stranger belonged to her wolf. She decided to allow the wolf to remain and to trust her judgment about the stranger. Suddenly Aela had an idea.

"I thank you for your assistance and you handle yourself well. You would make a fine Shield-Sister if you are so inclined." She saw movement in the corner of her eye and she turned her head to see Farkas and Ria approaching them.

"What is a Shield-Sister?" the woman asked.

Aela looked back at the woman. "You haven't been in Skyrim very long have you? We are called the Companions, we're a group of warriors that….." the woman looked up at that with a look of comprehension. "You know of us?" Aela asked. The woman nodded. "I've heard of you, yes."

The woman turned to look at Farkas and Ria and said "You looked as if you had your hands full."

Farkas gave her a little smile. "I was just about to get him before you showed up."

Ria snorted "yeah, crawling around on your hands and knees is a proven age old tactic that none can defend against."

Farkas looked at Ria and sighed "I get no respect around here."

The woman grinned then she stood and looked at Aela. "I appreciate your offer," she inclined her head to her, "and I may take you up on it but first I need to speak with Jarl Balgruuf about Helgen."

"What about Helgen?" Aela asked.

"A dragon attacked this morning." Aela was shocked and quickly looked at Farkas. He nodded and said "I think we saw it this morning. How many people survived?"

"I don't know. We were able to make it out through a cave under the keep but we didn't go back to see." The woman Aela noted seemed calm considering the implications of the information, but she scented fear coming from her, which meant that she understood what had happened but was able to keep her emotions under control. It was yet another factor in favor of the potential new recruit, Aela thought.

"You said 'we.'" Ria asked. The woman nodded "yeah, me and an imperial soldier." Aela noticed that the woman seemed not to want to talk about anything else.

"Well, I am Aela. This is Farkas and Ria." She said pointed to the other two. "I am Katarin." The woman said. Aela continued "we are heading into the city now and you are free to accompany us if you wish."

Katarin nodded. "Thank you." Farkas and Ria turned and started towards the city. Aela fell in behind them and Katarin was walking behind her. Her wolf had certainly approved of the woman and Aela thought that she did so as well. She would still have to prove herself but somehow Aela didn't think that would be a problem.

"So what were you saying before about the Companions?" Katarin asked her. Aela stopped and turned to look at her trying to remember then started walking beside her. "Oh just that the Companions are an order of warriors that show up and solve problems if the money is good enough."

"I see, so your mercenaries then." Katarin stated rather bluntly. Aela suddenly felt angered and defensive but when she looked at Katarin she didn't see the condemnation she expected, but instead saw curiosity. She pushed away the anger and answered calmly. "In a manner of speaking though we don't consider ourselves as such. We don't do jobs for money alone, but with the war going on, we take up what the armies disregard. We go after bandits, thieves, the occasional vampire den, that sort of thing. "

She saw Katarin grin at that. "Noble work." She stated. Aela shrugged "We drink late into the night and fight each other at the slightest insult too, so we are far from noble." They were approaching the gate and Aela saw Farkas and Ria waiting for them. Katarin looked like she was going to say something else before a guard cut in.

"You may go in Companions, but the stranger cannot. The city is closed for the time being." Aela started to ask why but Katarin beat her to it. "I have information for the Jarl about the attack on Helgen. It is vital that I speak to him." The guard looked unconvinced but he glanced at the other guard. "Fine, but don't cause any trouble." The second guard said.

The first guard stepped aside while the second signaled to open the gate. Soon they were making their way through the city and when they reached Jorrvaskr, they separated. Farkas and Ria were already making their way inside, when Aela once again reminded Katarin that she should talk to Kodlak and possibly join the Companions.

She watched Katarin for a moment while she was ascending the steps to Dragonsreach. She was hoping that she would agree, but she didn't know why. It was her wolf who had approved of the woman at first but while, from the brief conversation they had, she felt that Katarin was a good person she didn't know anything about her.

However, as she usually did, she trusted her wolf's judgment and decided that she would give her a chance. Her wolf had never steered her wrong when it came to people, it was one of the reasons that she had resisted Skjor's advances. She figured that there was no reason this time should be any different so she turned and started up the steps to Jorrvaskr, glad to finally be home.

**A/N: First thank you for those that are following the story, if you have any questions or comments, please review or pm me. **

**Now I will just say a few words about the story so far and for the future. In regards to the werewolves and the lore associated with them. I have only read Patricia Briggs' novels (The Mercy Thompson series and the Alpha and Omega series) so I do not know if her werewolf lore is universal or her own, but it is her work that influences my own werewolves in this story. So all credit goes to her in that regard.**

**Also most of the story will be from Katarin's POV but at times there will be a chapter from Aela's POV or maybe from another POV.**

**Anyway, I just thought I would give everyone a heads up and again thanks for reading.**


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